I've spent most of my adult life overseas. And while in most cases I quickly and easily "fit right back in" to life in America, there are always a few things that leave me feeling like I'm a day late and a dollar short. Or at least like I'm the only clueless one in a room full of people that already know the answer to the question.
This past month the main thing that's left me feeling like a fish out of water is navigating the medical world. All five of my children are due for some immunizations so I called a recommended pediatrician. The receptionist all but laughed at me when I asked if they had anything available in December. I didn't even get to mention that I didn't need ONE appointment, I needed FIVE, and they were all NEW PATIENTS!
Turns out I should have scheduled them last summer. Oh well. We're getting them done at the Public Health Center. They were able to get me five back-to-back appointments in a jiffy.
Then I needed to get Luke seen by a pediatric gastroenterologist. His first available appointment is in March, and I need a referral from his Primary Care Doc (he doesn't have one, but he does have a pediatric gastro doc in Bangkok, does that count?). My uncle (a family physician) stepped in and with a pile of emailed records from the Bangkok hospital and a little wiggling we got Luke in for January 20th.
Even simple questions (what's your phone number?) get fishy. Do you want the number where I am living now? Or the one where I'll be living later? What if I just give you a number for my mother-in-law, she'll be able to find me?
[I planned (and still plan) to get cellular service for my phone here but this is one of those things that Matt usually handles and here I am on week three, still no cellular coverage for my phone :) I did go to Verizon but my phone is not compatible and "no thanks I'm not interested in a 99 cent phone with a two year contract" and "Yes, several people have recommended Wal-mart pre paid plans but have you ever taken five children to Wal-mart and if I meet you there could you keep an eye on them while I figure out what to do about my phone?" My phone works perfectly well when I can get on a wifi connection, so that's a blessing.]
But mostly this trip home its the medical world stuff that leaves me spinning. I did get appointments for all five to get immunizations (tomorrow, Wednesday) but now John Paul has his ear tubes surgery this Friday so I can't risk a fever and I'll be postponing his shots til *hopefully* next week. Luke is, I think, settled for now. I tried weaning him off his reflux medication and it did not go well. It went the opposite of well. So I quickly put him right back on at the full dosage and now hoping to get some answers in January. I think our next steps are a upper GI endoscopy and/or a full elimination diet.
John Paul too, I think most of the medical world mess is behind us. He gets his ear tubes Friday. I have his initial speech evaluation set and the right documents faxed and the insurance approval should be on the way and, well, wasn't that easy?!? Ha! It only took about ten phone calls, maybe twenty. And emails. And a fax (thanks mom). yeesh.
So while I'm thankful to be here in this land full of a ga-zillion highly trained doctors (who are all booked up til mid-spring, in case you are wondering) and I'm hopeful for the results of some of our visits, right now I'm exhausted from just chasing paper and people and info, trying to figure out what I need and getting it to the right spot.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Monday, December 9, 2013
the Lady Wolfpack (at Reynolds)
As a child I spent many hours in Reynolds Coliseum, home of the Wolfpack. Both my parents hold graduate degrees from NCSU (we lived in married student housing, though I don't remember it - not even two years old at the time).
And after we moved off campus we didn't go far - I grew up within a short drive of the State campus and while everyone knew our first loyalties were with the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest we cheered long and loud for the Wolfpack too.
So when Dad mentioned a Lady Wolfpack game I was sold from the get-go. Such a great way to spend a cold rainy Sunday afternoon! (Mom home with the littlest two napping while Dad and I took the bigs to the game.)
My Dad loves collegiate athletics. He's a long time season ticket holder at WFU and never one to pass up a seat at Carter-Finley, or just about anywhere else the ACC is playing (football or basketball). He and my uncles would take whole troops of us little cousins along for tailgating at Wake, I told the kids this afternoon how they would plop us down inside big black trash bags to keep us warm on colder football days!
To watch my kids experience the excitement today was such a gift. They loved every minute of the experience, from our jog to the courtside (we were buying our general admission seats last minute as the Star Spangled banner played inside) to our half time visit to meet the Lady Wolf.
Yep, we all dressed in red! Even though I traded my allegiances to the Tar Heels when I left for college I'm not ashamed to wear a little red when visiting Reynolds.
They loved it all - the pep band, the players, the scoreboard, the cheerleaders, the time outs, the popcorn, the whole experience was a big win.
The Lady Wolfpack pulled off a nice win over Elon (a 40 pt spread at the end). And we all know how much nicer it is to cheer for the winning team :)
There's no telling how many hundreds of hours I spent as a child watching Wake play (and State too).
This opportunity to go with my kiddos and Dad on game day - just so thankful.
And after we moved off campus we didn't go far - I grew up within a short drive of the State campus and while everyone knew our first loyalties were with the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest we cheered long and loud for the Wolfpack too.
So when Dad mentioned a Lady Wolfpack game I was sold from the get-go. Such a great way to spend a cold rainy Sunday afternoon! (Mom home with the littlest two napping while Dad and I took the bigs to the game.)
My Dad loves collegiate athletics. He's a long time season ticket holder at WFU and never one to pass up a seat at Carter-Finley, or just about anywhere else the ACC is playing (football or basketball). He and my uncles would take whole troops of us little cousins along for tailgating at Wake, I told the kids this afternoon how they would plop us down inside big black trash bags to keep us warm on colder football days!
To watch my kids experience the excitement today was such a gift. They loved every minute of the experience, from our jog to the courtside (we were buying our general admission seats last minute as the Star Spangled banner played inside) to our half time visit to meet the Lady Wolf.
Yep, we all dressed in red! Even though I traded my allegiances to the Tar Heels when I left for college I'm not ashamed to wear a little red when visiting Reynolds.
They loved it all - the pep band, the players, the scoreboard, the cheerleaders, the time outs, the popcorn, the whole experience was a big win.
The Lady Wolfpack pulled off a nice win over Elon (a 40 pt spread at the end). And we all know how much nicer it is to cheer for the winning team :)
There's no telling how many hundreds of hours I spent as a child watching Wake play (and State too).
This opportunity to go with my kiddos and Dad on game day - just so thankful.
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Pullen Park
Earlier this week we checked the weather and knew that today would be the perfect day to head to Pullen Park. [The oldest public park in NC and the 5th oldest operating amusement park in the U.S.]
The high today was 79 degrees! It was gorgeous! Mostly, we were captivated by the carousel (built in 1911), but we also spent a lot of time on the playgrounds, walking around the lake, and picnicking.
See the wind blowing Julianna's hair? In other words, a cold front is coming. The forecast-ed high for Sunday is 39. But we'll take a summer-like day when we get one!
All the kids loved the carousel but it captured Isaac the most. He is eager to take his Daddy!
My time away from North Carolina definitely makes me appreciate it all the more. It is a GREAT place to call home.
The high today was 79 degrees! It was gorgeous! Mostly, we were captivated by the carousel (built in 1911), but we also spent a lot of time on the playgrounds, walking around the lake, and picnicking.
See the wind blowing Julianna's hair? In other words, a cold front is coming. The forecast-ed high for Sunday is 39. But we'll take a summer-like day when we get one!
All the kids loved the carousel but it captured Isaac the most. He is eager to take his Daddy!
My time away from North Carolina definitely makes me appreciate it all the more. It is a GREAT place to call home.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
all the many questions
Hello little miniature sponges. Welcome to America.
My children are in question-asking-hyper-drive. This is what it sounds like in the car.....
What are the green signs for?
What about those arrows?
What does 'exit only' mean?
If the speed limit is 55 why are you driving 61? [Julianna can see the dashboard from her back-row seat. Yes, she totally asked this, and not at all in a condemning tone, just perfectly curious!]
Why are some signs blue/brown?
When will we see another brown sign?
How come some roads have numbers? (Hwy 70 west, Hwy 50 north)
Why are you parking like this? [In China I always back in to the space, always, and so does everyone else. I'm contextualizing here and pulling straight in more often.]
Why don't you park closer? (It's a handicapped space.)
What is a handicapped space?
What is that clicking noise? [It's my turn signal! Ha! Shows that the turn signal is not a big part of Asian driving!]
Why does every house have a number? [We do have street addresses in China, but they aren't a big direction marker and not frequently used, or even visible.]
Even the bank has a number??!!?? Does every single building have a number?
It's awesome. As long as I am up for the many many questions. Today en route to the library (trip #3 already! we're in love.) I explained the street numbering address system and we all agreed it was a pretty great idea. "So easy to find something, just check the number where you are and then go up or down."
I even explained the streets/avenues grid system we'll encounter next month when we head to the upper midwest.
Still, they were a little incredulous that every building had a number. I guess it seemed like a lot of work to them.
And then, while stopped at a traffic light, I heard Julianna's voice again, "Look! Even the poles have numbers!"
The tone of her voice said more than her actual words. It's crystal clear that this little girl thinks the whole numbering system has gone one step too far. Numbering the telephone poles? What's next?!?!
I LOVE THIS PART OF OUR LIVES! LOVE IT! I love how big their worlds are and how much they learn just by living life.
Recently Isaac asked about a friend he had just met: "What country does she live in?" In his mind, this is a very pertinent question.
Isaac is also the one who, when the plane lands, almost always asks "What language do they speak here?" It doesn't matter if we were on the plane 45 minutes or 14 hours, he asks.
They've asked about price tags (Why don't they just put 5 dollars, I mean 4.99 is practically the same thing, it would be easier). No surprise that the follow up questions were about sales tax. (With no sales tax in China the price you see is the price you get, simple as that.)
They ask about the credit card swipe machine at the grocery store check out. The "double mailboxes" (one for the mail, one for the newspaper). Intersections with no traffic light (few and far between in our land of dense housing and crowded roads - practically every intersection needs a light!)
Why does the bus say CAT on it? (it's Capital Area Transit, kids) Why is the library free? Why Why Why?
The questions are relentless. My Dad even observed, "I did not realize how often I have to say I don't know why such and such is that way." They ask about everything.
They know they are in new territory. And they are determined to learn the ropes. They're off to a great start, that's for sure. If only I can keep up this pace!
My children are in question-asking-hyper-drive. This is what it sounds like in the car.....
What are the green signs for?
What about those arrows?
What does 'exit only' mean?
If the speed limit is 55 why are you driving 61? [Julianna can see the dashboard from her back-row seat. Yes, she totally asked this, and not at all in a condemning tone, just perfectly curious!]
Why are some signs blue/brown?
When will we see another brown sign?
How come some roads have numbers? (Hwy 70 west, Hwy 50 north)
Why are you parking like this? [In China I always back in to the space, always, and so does everyone else. I'm contextualizing here and pulling straight in more often.]
Why don't you park closer? (It's a handicapped space.)
What is a handicapped space?
What is that clicking noise? [It's my turn signal! Ha! Shows that the turn signal is not a big part of Asian driving!]
Why does every house have a number? [We do have street addresses in China, but they aren't a big direction marker and not frequently used, or even visible.]
Even the bank has a number??!!?? Does every single building have a number?
It's awesome. As long as I am up for the many many questions. Today en route to the library (trip #3 already! we're in love.) I explained the street numbering address system and we all agreed it was a pretty great idea. "So easy to find something, just check the number where you are and then go up or down."
I even explained the streets/avenues grid system we'll encounter next month when we head to the upper midwest.
Still, they were a little incredulous that every building had a number. I guess it seemed like a lot of work to them.
And then, while stopped at a traffic light, I heard Julianna's voice again, "Look! Even the poles have numbers!"
The tone of her voice said more than her actual words. It's crystal clear that this little girl thinks the whole numbering system has gone one step too far. Numbering the telephone poles? What's next?!?!
I LOVE THIS PART OF OUR LIVES! LOVE IT! I love how big their worlds are and how much they learn just by living life.
Recently Isaac asked about a friend he had just met: "What country does she live in?" In his mind, this is a very pertinent question.
Isaac is also the one who, when the plane lands, almost always asks "What language do they speak here?" It doesn't matter if we were on the plane 45 minutes or 14 hours, he asks.
They've asked about price tags (Why don't they just put 5 dollars, I mean 4.99 is practically the same thing, it would be easier). No surprise that the follow up questions were about sales tax. (With no sales tax in China the price you see is the price you get, simple as that.)
They ask about the credit card swipe machine at the grocery store check out. The "double mailboxes" (one for the mail, one for the newspaper). Intersections with no traffic light (few and far between in our land of dense housing and crowded roads - practically every intersection needs a light!)
Why does the bus say CAT on it? (it's Capital Area Transit, kids) Why is the library free? Why Why Why?
The questions are relentless. My Dad even observed, "I did not realize how often I have to say I don't know why such and such is that way." They ask about everything.
They know they are in new territory. And they are determined to learn the ropes. They're off to a great start, that's for sure. If only I can keep up this pace!
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
in just one day
One thing we have talked about for MONTHS in anticipation of this time .... visiting museums!
Today we made our first trip to the Museum of Natural Sciences. It is incredible. My older four really engaged with a lot of the museum's material (although they also ran right past huge exhibits and ignored gobs of it!). Luke was delighted to roam free in a kid friendly zone. We're already talking about going back - free admission and about 15 minutes from my parent's house, can't beat that!
And they have plenty of used-to-be-alive animals too - like this wolf skin. This room is designed for "scientists aged 8 and up" so we were a little young but fascinated none the less. So cool all the amazing stuff they have here - microscopes and skeletons and audio of animal calls and... and... and... and... just seemingly endless stuff to see and do.
Me and my little people. What a treat to spend the morning here!
And if that weren't enough, we put up a Christmas tree late this afternoon. Everyone got in on the action with this kid-friendly tree in my parent's kid-friendliest room.
Good thing I got this shot of Luke actually ADDING an ornament to the tree. Mostly he specializes in ornament removal. There's nothing quite like a toddler and a Christmas tree. I've been down this road before :)
Last year John Paul was our tree's greatest security risk. Oh what a difference a year makes! Look at him working hard on getting it just right! You, my boy, are growing up!
Isaac's arms didn't reach quite as high as he wanted. Later I put him on my shoulders for some good high ornament hanging.
Oh she worked hard on getting them in just the right spots.
And so did her big sister.
Joy to finish this day, kiddos all snug in their beds. And hopefully do a little more of all of this - museums, Christmas prep - in the near future.
Today we made our first trip to the Museum of Natural Sciences. It is incredible. My older four really engaged with a lot of the museum's material (although they also ran right past huge exhibits and ignored gobs of it!). Luke was delighted to roam free in a kid friendly zone. We're already talking about going back - free admission and about 15 minutes from my parent's house, can't beat that!
 | |
| my boys at the electric car model |
 |
| goofballs sticking their heads in a dinosaur skeleton's mouth! |
 | |||
| The naturalist brought this rabbit out of the cage and John Paul immediately reached out his arms and said "hold it"! |
 |
| Julianna wants to go back for more of this - real live animals! |
And they have plenty of used-to-be-alive animals too - like this wolf skin. This room is designed for "scientists aged 8 and up" so we were a little young but fascinated none the less. So cool all the amazing stuff they have here - microscopes and skeletons and audio of animal calls and... and... and... and... just seemingly endless stuff to see and do.
Me and my little people. What a treat to spend the morning here!
And if that weren't enough, we put up a Christmas tree late this afternoon. Everyone got in on the action with this kid-friendly tree in my parent's kid-friendliest room.
Good thing I got this shot of Luke actually ADDING an ornament to the tree. Mostly he specializes in ornament removal. There's nothing quite like a toddler and a Christmas tree. I've been down this road before :)
Last year John Paul was our tree's greatest security risk. Oh what a difference a year makes! Look at him working hard on getting it just right! You, my boy, are growing up!
Isaac's arms didn't reach quite as high as he wanted. Later I put him on my shoulders for some good high ornament hanging.
Oh she worked hard on getting them in just the right spots.
And so did her big sister.
Joy to finish this day, kiddos all snug in their beds. And hopefully do a little more of all of this - museums, Christmas prep - in the near future.
Monday, December 2, 2013
big days, little visits
So fun to be here in the States for Thanksgiving, and also so fun to be here for the little visits - holidays are a treat, but it's often the little visits that I miss the most.
This afternoon I took my older three to see my college roommate Sara and her two children - her husband was out and I was enjoying not chasing toddlers so we had tons of time to visit, and watch our children play together. BIG treat!
We ate dessert sitting by the fire. Double treat!
I'm (unfortunately) missing photos from Thanksgiving and a family gathering on Saturday night (one with Mom's family, one with Dad's). The solo-parenting starts to show when I realize how few photos I take at large group events! Hopefully I'll get better at photos once Matt arrives. [Dad surely has some on his camera though, and I'd love to add some here when I can.]
After week one (the battle with jet lag) and week two (John Paul meets the cleft team plus Thanksgiving) I'm ready for a more 'normal' week around here! Library visit #3, some more time with friends/family in the area, doctor appointments for practically everyone.... those are the things on tap for this week.
This afternoon I took my older three to see my college roommate Sara and her two children - her husband was out and I was enjoying not chasing toddlers so we had tons of time to visit, and watch our children play together. BIG treat!
We ate dessert sitting by the fire. Double treat!
I'm (unfortunately) missing photos from Thanksgiving and a family gathering on Saturday night (one with Mom's family, one with Dad's). The solo-parenting starts to show when I realize how few photos I take at large group events! Hopefully I'll get better at photos once Matt arrives. [Dad surely has some on his camera though, and I'd love to add some here when I can.]
After week one (the battle with jet lag) and week two (John Paul meets the cleft team plus Thanksgiving) I'm ready for a more 'normal' week around here! Library visit #3, some more time with friends/family in the area, doctor appointments for practically everyone.... those are the things on tap for this week.
Thursday, November 28, 2013
the cleft team ROCKS!
Ok, so in a nutshell our day at UNC could not have gone any better! I loved it! So did John Paul, once he forgave me for waking him up and putting him in the car seat at 7am. Oh he was so mad at me and kept asking to go back to bed! But we were on the interstate within minutes of pulling out of the driveway... I pointed out one 18-wheeler and he dried his tears long enough to focus on the big truck (much bigger than anything we see in Asia). A second one passed and by the time the third truck came into view John Paul decided it was time to stop crying and added "18 wheeler" to his vocabulary.
We met physicians in 8 different specialties and (no surprise) John Paul charmed the socks off each and every one. The message we heard over and over was this: He is doing great. Great. Great. Great. Yes, he needs speech help (we knew that) but - good news - none of his speech issues are related to how his palate functions now. His missing palate dramatically affected the way that his speech developed pre-surgery, but the palate the surgeons created last Christmas is functioning perfectly. He needs time and speech therapy (to help him learn now what he should have learned innately as an infant/young toddler).
We are anticipating a (very minor, outpatient, easy peasy) surgery in the next few weeks to put in ear tubes. Other than that, we aren't looking at another surgery until between the ages of 7 and 9. Music to this mama's ears as our last surgery experience was no picnic and I'm not looking forward to a repeat experience.
The pic is John Paul at his last stop - pediatric dentistry - with a group of doctors who specialize in cleft patients. This was the most intimidating group of doctors by far, and John Paul was a champ right til the very end.
The way the 'cleft team' works is that all the professionals on the team - oral surgeons, palate surgeons, dentists, nurse practitioner, speech language pathologist, ENT, psychologist - all these people see John Paul on one day. These folks work together as a team, and after we left UNC they all met and decided on the best possible care plan for him, all working together, all consulting with their expertise in different disciplines.
We'll get the final team report in the next few days. And we'll be with this 'team' for all his care. His next surgery, any follow up issues, anything.... it all happens through this team of people. I couldn't be more pleased or more thankful for how the day went.
Thankful. Thankful for this little boy.
We met physicians in 8 different specialties and (no surprise) John Paul charmed the socks off each and every one. The message we heard over and over was this: He is doing great. Great. Great. Great. Yes, he needs speech help (we knew that) but - good news - none of his speech issues are related to how his palate functions now. His missing palate dramatically affected the way that his speech developed pre-surgery, but the palate the surgeons created last Christmas is functioning perfectly. He needs time and speech therapy (to help him learn now what he should have learned innately as an infant/young toddler).
We are anticipating a (very minor, outpatient, easy peasy) surgery in the next few weeks to put in ear tubes. Other than that, we aren't looking at another surgery until between the ages of 7 and 9. Music to this mama's ears as our last surgery experience was no picnic and I'm not looking forward to a repeat experience.
The pic is John Paul at his last stop - pediatric dentistry - with a group of doctors who specialize in cleft patients. This was the most intimidating group of doctors by far, and John Paul was a champ right til the very end.
The way the 'cleft team' works is that all the professionals on the team - oral surgeons, palate surgeons, dentists, nurse practitioner, speech language pathologist, ENT, psychologist - all these people see John Paul on one day. These folks work together as a team, and after we left UNC they all met and decided on the best possible care plan for him, all working together, all consulting with their expertise in different disciplines.
We'll get the final team report in the next few days. And we'll be with this 'team' for all his care. His next surgery, any follow up issues, anything.... it all happens through this team of people. I couldn't be more pleased or more thankful for how the day went.
Thankful. Thankful for this little boy.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
his Daddy's shirt (and cleft team visit tomorrow)
Pulled out this so-sweet hand me down shirt for my youngest today. As I pushed his arm through one sleeve he took his other hand, patted the flannel and said "Baba" (his name for Matt/Daddy). Yes son, your shirt looks just like one your Daddy might wear. And you look just a bit like Daddy yourself :)
I already know what Luke will be wearing when Matt arrives in NC. "Welcome Daddy, I'm so proud to look just like you!"
As a family I think we are *almost* done singing the jet lag blues. Unfortunately, Luke is hanging on to the tune a bit longer than the rest of us, but progress is progress and I'm encouraged (as opposed to Saturday night when I was, ummm, very very not encouraged).
I am seeing some stress behavior from different kids at different times. Each of us handles and processes transition differently - and I just see little things (and a few not so little things) that show me we are most definitely still in transition. You don't move halfway around the world and walk without a bit of a wiggle in your step - a least for a while.
Precious John Paul (who has spent too much time on the bad side of too much transition and stress in his short years) is doing okay, but not great. Tomorrow is a big day for him - we see the Cleft Team at UNC. I'm really excited to meet with this team of health care professionals, I'm excited to show off my amazing boy, to hear their input and advice, to get him evaluated for some speech therapy (wahoo!) and to hopefully get answers to some questions (and probably realize there are many good questions that I should be asking!)
It'll be a big day though, and I'm not entirely sure how it's going to go. My Dad (one of John Paul's favorite people in the whole world) is going with us, my Mom will stay here with the other four. We leave at 7am and expect to be gone most of the day. 7am sounds very very early! (don't laugh! I've gradually moved our kids' wake up time to 8:30 and I haven't been out of bed before 8 .... keep in mind that 8 isn't that early - just a few days ago several of the kids weren't hitting good solid sleep before 2 or 3am!)
So with that in mind I'm headed to bed, gotta get ready for my wake up call!
I already know what Luke will be wearing when Matt arrives in NC. "Welcome Daddy, I'm so proud to look just like you!"
As a family I think we are *almost* done singing the jet lag blues. Unfortunately, Luke is hanging on to the tune a bit longer than the rest of us, but progress is progress and I'm encouraged (as opposed to Saturday night when I was, ummm, very very not encouraged).
I am seeing some stress behavior from different kids at different times. Each of us handles and processes transition differently - and I just see little things (and a few not so little things) that show me we are most definitely still in transition. You don't move halfway around the world and walk without a bit of a wiggle in your step - a least for a while.
Precious John Paul (who has spent too much time on the bad side of too much transition and stress in his short years) is doing okay, but not great. Tomorrow is a big day for him - we see the Cleft Team at UNC. I'm really excited to meet with this team of health care professionals, I'm excited to show off my amazing boy, to hear their input and advice, to get him evaluated for some speech therapy (wahoo!) and to hopefully get answers to some questions (and probably realize there are many good questions that I should be asking!)
It'll be a big day though, and I'm not entirely sure how it's going to go. My Dad (one of John Paul's favorite people in the whole world) is going with us, my Mom will stay here with the other four. We leave at 7am and expect to be gone most of the day. 7am sounds very very early! (don't laugh! I've gradually moved our kids' wake up time to 8:30 and I haven't been out of bed before 8 .... keep in mind that 8 isn't that early - just a few days ago several of the kids weren't hitting good solid sleep before 2 or 3am!)
So with that in mind I'm headed to bed, gotta get ready for my wake up call!
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Thursday, Friday, Saturday
The days keep ticking by. So fun to be here with my Mom and Dad!
Jet lag issues are improving. Luke making slow progress, everyone else doing admirably. Julianna and John Paul have slept through the night two nights in a row! (still a weird night.... bedtime by 9/10 and up by 10ish but I can work with that!) If Luke can turn a corner here soon we'll be golden. And my mind will be less foggy, right?
On Thursday morning I again resorted to bribery to get the big kids out of bed in the morning (and by morning I mean 10am!) - this time it was "get out of bed, get your own library card". And after breakfast we headed over to make good on my promise.
Such fun to chose our books and I learned a few lessons (#1 - bring a stroller to contain Luke!) and it'll take a few more trips before we learn our way around, but we found a nice big pile to bring home with us and we'll go again next week!
We're also busy exploring all the neighborhood parks. Coming from a place where nice playgrounds are a rarity (and rarely outdoors - or free!) these are just such delight! And the weather so pleasant these last two days although the forecast says we won't be running around outside in light weight jackets starting tomorrow. But still....
This is the first time that Isaac really 'pumped' on the swing all by himself, no reminders, no coaching, swinging on his own for a long long long time. We don't get much time on swings and the big kids are itching to go back to this park.
My parents are seeing John Paul's inquisitive, curious, always in to something personality hard at work in their own house. Tonight he pushed a magnet through the air conditioning vent - luckily it was a wall vent (not a floor vent) and the magnet was perched on a ledge and hadn't yet fallen down the shaft. After a few unsuccessful tries with a kitchen knife Mom brought the screwdriver so I could remove the vent cover and rescue the magnet.
Apparently Luke watched carefully - as soon as he persuaded my Mom to hand him the screwdriver he went right to work.
If only we can leave that vent alone for a while....
And if only Luke (and I) can get some sleep.....
Jet lag issues are improving. Luke making slow progress, everyone else doing admirably. Julianna and John Paul have slept through the night two nights in a row! (still a weird night.... bedtime by 9/10 and up by 10ish but I can work with that!) If Luke can turn a corner here soon we'll be golden. And my mind will be less foggy, right?
On Thursday morning I again resorted to bribery to get the big kids out of bed in the morning (and by morning I mean 10am!) - this time it was "get out of bed, get your own library card". And after breakfast we headed over to make good on my promise.
Such fun to chose our books and I learned a few lessons (#1 - bring a stroller to contain Luke!) and it'll take a few more trips before we learn our way around, but we found a nice big pile to bring home with us and we'll go again next week!
We're also busy exploring all the neighborhood parks. Coming from a place where nice playgrounds are a rarity (and rarely outdoors - or free!) these are just such delight! And the weather so pleasant these last two days although the forecast says we won't be running around outside in light weight jackets starting tomorrow. But still....
This is the first time that Isaac really 'pumped' on the swing all by himself, no reminders, no coaching, swinging on his own for a long long long time. We don't get much time on swings and the big kids are itching to go back to this park.
My parents are seeing John Paul's inquisitive, curious, always in to something personality hard at work in their own house. Tonight he pushed a magnet through the air conditioning vent - luckily it was a wall vent (not a floor vent) and the magnet was perched on a ledge and hadn't yet fallen down the shaft. After a few unsuccessful tries with a kitchen knife Mom brought the screwdriver so I could remove the vent cover and rescue the magnet.
Apparently Luke watched carefully - as soon as he persuaded my Mom to hand him the screwdriver he went right to work.
If only we can leave that vent alone for a while....
And if only Luke (and I) can get some sleep.....
Thursday, November 21, 2013
jet lag to the 5th power
Wondering what all this looks like? Here goes...
Right now the girls are in one bedroom, the bigger boys in another (with an empty crib for Luke when things settle down) and Luke in a pack n play in a separate bedroom. Trying to spread everyone out as much as possible for maximum sleep.
First night everyone is asleep by 2am. Luke is up from 3 to 5 and then sleeps again on the couch from 5am to 1pm. Everyone else sleeps solid from 2am to 1pm Tuesday afternoon. [Except John Paul who wakes up crying and moves in to my bed midway through the long winter's nap.]
11 hours is not shabby and they would have slept longer too - but it's pure exhaustion kicking in, and the 11 hours come at the wrong time of day. [Unfortunately, I only sleep for bits and pieces of the time they are asleep.]
Night #2 is our first step in the battle. Here's how it went down. [all times my best guess, some details filled in with help from Mom and Dad]
8:30pm bedtime for Luke. He's only been awake 7 hours but he's rubbing his eyes and what else do you do?
9pm John Paul in bed.
9:30 Isaac to bed - John Paul already snoozing hard and Isaac is asleep within minutes
10pm Girls in bed, Julianna tells me that she is tired. I am hopeful :)
10:30 Luke crying. I settle him down quickly and he's asleep again.
11:45 John Paul fussing. I move him to my bed and he's back to sleep quickly. I decide it's time to go to bed myself and turn off the light by midnight.
12:20 Luke crying again. I rock him back to sleep.
1:15 Luke again. I knock on my parents door and beg for help. Dad takes Luke downstairs.
1:30 Lydia arrives in the living room, Luke is delighted to see her and the two of them are wide awake with Dad (who is less wide awake, obviously!).
2:15 Isaac shows up at my bed, says he "can't sleep"... I tuck him in on the other side of me and try to sleep surrounded by little boy. No dice. John Paul wakes with the commotion and is thrilled to see Isaac. Neither of them fall back asleep.
2:30 I take the boys downstairs where we find Dad and Lydia and Luke. Dad heads to bed and I pull out snacks.
2:45 Julianna appears bleary-eyed and asks for the time. I tell her it's almost 3am and she heads back to bed. I start reading books on the couch.
3:00 Julianna again, she "can't fall back asleep". She joins the couch party. I'm struggling. Remember I'm coming off a long trip where my total sleep was about 3 hours, my longest continuous stretch was probably 45 minutes. At 3am I'm not putting my best foot forward. I'm plowing through chapter 2 of Beverly Cleary's The Mouse and the Motorcycle when I decide it's "bedtime, part two, sleepy or NOT"
3:30 Luke in bed, but he's unsettled and I'm in and out to rock him a few times .....
3:45 John Paul and Isaac in bed but wide awake.
4 Lydia in bed (she's been up almost 3 hours) and Julianna reading books with a small light. I tell Lydia she can "try very hard" to fall asleep and read with Julianna if she is not successful.
4:15 check on boys, still wide awake but mostly quiet.
4:30 final visit to Luke's room, hopeful he is down for the count, Isaac and JP still awake. Isaac asks "how many more minutes til it's time to get up" and I answer "SIX hours". Momma is officially done.
4:35 I'm headed for bed.... as far as I know only Luke is asleep :)
5:00 Isaac at my side whispering, "Has it been six hours yet?" He tells me that John Paul is asleep so I send Isaac to my mom (she's an early riser anyways) and sleep rock solid til 9:30.
I wake feeling good (4 and a half uninterrupted hours is my longest sleep stretch since Sunday night, China time) and decide it's time to wake the troops and introduce them to the idea of sleeping AT NIGHT and playing DURING THE DAY, Eastern Standard Time night and day, that is!
At 9:30 I find John Paul and Luke still sleeping.... Mom reports that Isaac Lydia and Julianna fell asleep at 6am (Isaac on the floor between their beds) and she talks me in to letting everyone sleep a bit longer.
At 11 I start the wake up process. The big three are not impressed with my efforts; I finally resort to bribing - each of them gets a dollar to spend on the dollar aisle at Target if they are out of the bed within two minutes. The bribe works and they trudge to the kitchen for breakfast where they are joined by John Paul (crying, begging to "go night night") and Luke (bleary-eyed and unwilling to leave my arms).
So, we've got a few more days til the worst is behind us :)
In the meantime, we are having a blast! Seriously. Sleep is a work in progress but we are good at having fun no matter what!
Some pics from the last three days....
Victory at the D.C. airport.... our travel crew :) Thankful to add these two wonderful girls - Addie and Lindsey - to our list of friends.
At the airport... John Paul so excited to be with his Granddaddy. Funny that every time we talked about meeting at the airport I would say "Granddaddy will be there" and John Paul always insisted Grandmama would be there too. Turns out, he knew best. She WAS there :)
[And we somehow missed a big group picture, ugh!]
Last flight - a short one but this is typically where we see a lot of tears. Not another airplane :( Julianna and Lydia were both struggling to maintain composure as we boarded. No worries, they were asleep within minutes..... I had to shake Lydia awake at the gate and she could barely make it off the plane she was still so wobbly :)
Sound asleep at midday on the living room couch. Hello jet lag :)
Raking leaves on the first day... good for the body, good for the soul.
Working Hard (Lydia) and Hardly Working (Luke)
Oh these boys were LOVING it!
Today we hit Target for a few supplies and the chance to spend their hard-earned Target dollar on the dollar aisle.
Tomorrow we're headed for the library. I'm not sure who is the most excited .... all my kids have heard enough raving about libraries to be ready for this trip :)
Right now the girls are in one bedroom, the bigger boys in another (with an empty crib for Luke when things settle down) and Luke in a pack n play in a separate bedroom. Trying to spread everyone out as much as possible for maximum sleep.
First night everyone is asleep by 2am. Luke is up from 3 to 5 and then sleeps again on the couch from 5am to 1pm. Everyone else sleeps solid from 2am to 1pm Tuesday afternoon. [Except John Paul who wakes up crying and moves in to my bed midway through the long winter's nap.]
11 hours is not shabby and they would have slept longer too - but it's pure exhaustion kicking in, and the 11 hours come at the wrong time of day. [Unfortunately, I only sleep for bits and pieces of the time they are asleep.]
Night #2 is our first step in the battle. Here's how it went down. [all times my best guess, some details filled in with help from Mom and Dad]
8:30pm bedtime for Luke. He's only been awake 7 hours but he's rubbing his eyes and what else do you do?
9pm John Paul in bed.
9:30 Isaac to bed - John Paul already snoozing hard and Isaac is asleep within minutes
10pm Girls in bed, Julianna tells me that she is tired. I am hopeful :)
10:30 Luke crying. I settle him down quickly and he's asleep again.
11:45 John Paul fussing. I move him to my bed and he's back to sleep quickly. I decide it's time to go to bed myself and turn off the light by midnight.
12:20 Luke crying again. I rock him back to sleep.
1:15 Luke again. I knock on my parents door and beg for help. Dad takes Luke downstairs.
1:30 Lydia arrives in the living room, Luke is delighted to see her and the two of them are wide awake with Dad (who is less wide awake, obviously!).
2:15 Isaac shows up at my bed, says he "can't sleep"... I tuck him in on the other side of me and try to sleep surrounded by little boy. No dice. John Paul wakes with the commotion and is thrilled to see Isaac. Neither of them fall back asleep.
2:30 I take the boys downstairs where we find Dad and Lydia and Luke. Dad heads to bed and I pull out snacks.
2:45 Julianna appears bleary-eyed and asks for the time. I tell her it's almost 3am and she heads back to bed. I start reading books on the couch.
3:00 Julianna again, she "can't fall back asleep". She joins the couch party. I'm struggling. Remember I'm coming off a long trip where my total sleep was about 3 hours, my longest continuous stretch was probably 45 minutes. At 3am I'm not putting my best foot forward. I'm plowing through chapter 2 of Beverly Cleary's The Mouse and the Motorcycle when I decide it's "bedtime, part two, sleepy or NOT"
3:30 Luke in bed, but he's unsettled and I'm in and out to rock him a few times .....
3:45 John Paul and Isaac in bed but wide awake.
4 Lydia in bed (she's been up almost 3 hours) and Julianna reading books with a small light. I tell Lydia she can "try very hard" to fall asleep and read with Julianna if she is not successful.
4:15 check on boys, still wide awake but mostly quiet.
4:30 final visit to Luke's room, hopeful he is down for the count, Isaac and JP still awake. Isaac asks "how many more minutes til it's time to get up" and I answer "SIX hours". Momma is officially done.
4:35 I'm headed for bed.... as far as I know only Luke is asleep :)
5:00 Isaac at my side whispering, "Has it been six hours yet?" He tells me that John Paul is asleep so I send Isaac to my mom (she's an early riser anyways) and sleep rock solid til 9:30.
I wake feeling good (4 and a half uninterrupted hours is my longest sleep stretch since Sunday night, China time) and decide it's time to wake the troops and introduce them to the idea of sleeping AT NIGHT and playing DURING THE DAY, Eastern Standard Time night and day, that is!
At 9:30 I find John Paul and Luke still sleeping.... Mom reports that Isaac Lydia and Julianna fell asleep at 6am (Isaac on the floor between their beds) and she talks me in to letting everyone sleep a bit longer.
At 11 I start the wake up process. The big three are not impressed with my efforts; I finally resort to bribing - each of them gets a dollar to spend on the dollar aisle at Target if they are out of the bed within two minutes. The bribe works and they trudge to the kitchen for breakfast where they are joined by John Paul (crying, begging to "go night night") and Luke (bleary-eyed and unwilling to leave my arms).
So, we've got a few more days til the worst is behind us :)
In the meantime, we are having a blast! Seriously. Sleep is a work in progress but we are good at having fun no matter what!
Some pics from the last three days....
Victory at the D.C. airport.... our travel crew :) Thankful to add these two wonderful girls - Addie and Lindsey - to our list of friends.
At the airport... John Paul so excited to be with his Granddaddy. Funny that every time we talked about meeting at the airport I would say "Granddaddy will be there" and John Paul always insisted Grandmama would be there too. Turns out, he knew best. She WAS there :)
[And we somehow missed a big group picture, ugh!]
Last flight - a short one but this is typically where we see a lot of tears. Not another airplane :( Julianna and Lydia were both struggling to maintain composure as we boarded. No worries, they were asleep within minutes..... I had to shake Lydia awake at the gate and she could barely make it off the plane she was still so wobbly :)
Sound asleep at midday on the living room couch. Hello jet lag :)
Raking leaves on the first day... good for the body, good for the soul.
Working Hard (Lydia) and Hardly Working (Luke)
Oh these boys were LOVING it!
Today we hit Target for a few supplies and the chance to spend their hard-earned Target dollar on the dollar aisle.
Tomorrow we're headed for the library. I'm not sure who is the most excited .... all my kids have heard enough raving about libraries to be ready for this trip :)
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
made it
Every time we drive through a tunnel Isaac is silent ... he's "holding his breath". But he doesn't totally understand the concept..... I'm fairly confident he thinks that holding your breath in a tunnel means only breathing through the nose. Because EVERY SINGLE TIME we reach the far end of the tunnel (no matter how impossibly long) he proudly declares "made it"!
And that's how I feel.
Made it.
And proud of it too :)
In short, the trip went really really smooth, I mean..... considering I flew with five little people aged 7 and under. The two girls who traveled with me were amazing. I cannot tell you how many times they asked, "what can I do to help?" I mean, AMAZING. So very grateful to them, and the Lord who provided them in answer to our prayers.
Actually, I'd go to Antartica with the big three. They were a (relative) piece of cake. The little two were the handful :) But we made it.
Dad (and SURPRISE!) MOM were both in D.C. to meet us. It was a wonderful reunion and they chased kids while I rested in the airport waiting for our final flight. We got to their house about midnight and had the kids calmed down and in bed by 2am. The big four slept 11 hours!!! Not the best start to jet lag combat - letting them sleep til 1pm - but I figured everyone handles stress and transition better when rested. We can start fighting jet lag now :)
Dad has pictures and our first day was great fun but I must go to bed. John Paul is snoozing next to me as I type (was sleeping in his own bed but woke up disoriented and scared, so brought him in with me) and Luke has already been awake once too. It could be a long night....
And that's how I feel.
Made it.
And proud of it too :)
In short, the trip went really really smooth, I mean..... considering I flew with five little people aged 7 and under. The two girls who traveled with me were amazing. I cannot tell you how many times they asked, "what can I do to help?" I mean, AMAZING. So very grateful to them, and the Lord who provided them in answer to our prayers.
Actually, I'd go to Antartica with the big three. They were a (relative) piece of cake. The little two were the handful :) But we made it.
Dad (and SURPRISE!) MOM were both in D.C. to meet us. It was a wonderful reunion and they chased kids while I rested in the airport waiting for our final flight. We got to their house about midnight and had the kids calmed down and in bed by 2am. The big four slept 11 hours!!! Not the best start to jet lag combat - letting them sleep til 1pm - but I figured everyone handles stress and transition better when rested. We can start fighting jet lag now :)
Dad has pictures and our first day was great fun but I must go to bed. John Paul is snoozing next to me as I type (was sleeping in his own bed but woke up disoriented and scared, so brought him in with me) and Luke has already been awake once too. It could be a long night....
Sunday, November 17, 2013
ready for take off
We leave for the airport tomorrow morning....three flights and about 30 hours and - if all goes as planned - we'll be landing in NC.
Late this afternoon we met the girls (Addie and Lindsey) who travel with us... they are such blessing, such lavish provision. I'm filled with gratitude to have them on 'our team' as we fly.
While I love to dream of travel with no missed flights, no lost luggage, no puke, no screaming fits of exhaustion, no (fill in the blank).... well, maybe that's what God has for me. But maybe it isn't. So I pray that I will travel as someone who stands rock solid on the belief that God is good, God is sovereign, God is wise. No matter what the next days hold.
Pray with us. A content-hearted Luke. A peace-filled John Paul (little guy has had a few tough transitions and I'm worried this could really rattle him). We are all thankful for your prayers.
Late this afternoon we met the girls (Addie and Lindsey) who travel with us... they are such blessing, such lavish provision. I'm filled with gratitude to have them on 'our team' as we fly.
While I love to dream of travel with no missed flights, no lost luggage, no puke, no screaming fits of exhaustion, no (fill in the blank).... well, maybe that's what God has for me. But maybe it isn't. So I pray that I will travel as someone who stands rock solid on the belief that God is good, God is sovereign, God is wise. No matter what the next days hold.
Pray with us. A content-hearted Luke. A peace-filled John Paul (little guy has had a few tough transitions and I'm worried this could really rattle him). We are all thankful for your prayers.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Ping Ping the panda
Look what Julianna's classmates gave her as a last-day-of-school present :)
We named him after the school, and refer to him by his nick name, Ping Ping.
And we packed him.
It's hard to receive a stuffed panda the size of your little brother and not bring him to America.
I guess that's one perk of traveling with a small herd of children - luggage allowance! [On the way to the U.S. we never fill to capacity, next summer when we head back we'll probably be counting every pound.] Though I will say that Ping Ping takes up more than his fair share of one duffel! At least he doesn't weigh much!
We named him after the school, and refer to him by his nick name, Ping Ping.
And we packed him.
It's hard to receive a stuffed panda the size of your little brother and not bring him to America.
I guess that's one perk of traveling with a small herd of children - luggage allowance! [On the way to the U.S. we never fill to capacity, next summer when we head back we'll probably be counting every pound.] Though I will say that Ping Ping takes up more than his fair share of one duffel! At least he doesn't weigh much!
Thursday, November 14, 2013
John Paul's unhappy trip down the slide
Yesterday morning the girls were out of school and I decided we should celebrate with a trip to the indoor play place at a local mall.
There were only six children in the entire place (5 were mine, of course) and we had a blast. Sometimes at these kinds of places they each run five different directions, and they did that for a while.... and then these three started playing on the slide -
It must have looked like fun because Lydia joined in almost immediately.
And sure enough, a few minutes later our littlest buddy showed up at the top. It's no short hike/climb for Luke to make it up there, but he was determined!
Holding hands and going down the slide is definitely a blast for these kiddos, but check out these next few pictures and keep your eyes on John Paul as he gives a demo called "why holding hands on the slide is not always as fun as you wish it was".
poor little guy.
Matt and I scroll through these three pictures and laugh out loud. Not at the tears (little buddy was a bit rattled by his face-plant) but, well, they are just funny. Julianna is definitely a favorite of his, and I'm not sure if she was pulling him down or he didn't think to let go even if he had the chance.... but regardless, he recovered quickly and they moved on to another activity.
Here they are loading balls into a vacuum pipe that sucks them up to a high hanging basket.
When the basket is full enough they lay down in the ball pit and wait for the balls to dump ...
Four of them are in this picture. Do you see them?
There they are :)
We ended the morning with a picnic at the mall's outdoor eating area. It was pretty chilly (alright, very chilly) but I was the only one who seemed bothered by the weather. Maybe the kids were all still sweaty from their play place antics?
Today I pulled out suitcases and started loading. Tomorrow a friend is coming to spend the night with our children while Matt and I get a little time away (and a nice long night of sleep for me before the jet lag battles begin). Three days and counting.....
There were only six children in the entire place (5 were mine, of course) and we had a blast. Sometimes at these kinds of places they each run five different directions, and they did that for a while.... and then these three started playing on the slide -
It must have looked like fun because Lydia joined in almost immediately.
And sure enough, a few minutes later our littlest buddy showed up at the top. It's no short hike/climb for Luke to make it up there, but he was determined!
poor little guy.
Matt and I scroll through these three pictures and laugh out loud. Not at the tears (little buddy was a bit rattled by his face-plant) but, well, they are just funny. Julianna is definitely a favorite of his, and I'm not sure if she was pulling him down or he didn't think to let go even if he had the chance.... but regardless, he recovered quickly and they moved on to another activity.
Here they are loading balls into a vacuum pipe that sucks them up to a high hanging basket.
When the basket is full enough they lay down in the ball pit and wait for the balls to dump ...
Four of them are in this picture. Do you see them?
There they are :)
We ended the morning with a picnic at the mall's outdoor eating area. It was pretty chilly (alright, very chilly) but I was the only one who seemed bothered by the weather. Maybe the kids were all still sweaty from their play place antics?
Today I pulled out suitcases and started loading. Tomorrow a friend is coming to spend the night with our children while Matt and I get a little time away (and a nice long night of sleep for me before the jet lag battles begin). Three days and counting.....
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